Greenville Municipal Authority board members Tuesday debated unknowns regarding a potential sale of the town's water plant.

After every gray area was explored, the board voted to do some fact-finding and meet with borough council next month to discuss a potential sale.

The key X-factor is how many millions of dollars a sale would generate -- and what long-term effect the sale could have on consumers and the borough's finances.

While the authority and the borough are separate entities, the authority could legally sell the plant, pay off its $4 million debt and then dissolve, pumping leftover proceeds from the sale directly into borough coffers, board President Mario Marini said Tuesday. Authority board members are appointed by council.

The board got a legal opinion earlier this month from Warren Keck III, who serves as solicitor for the authority and council, Marini said.

A potential sale had been discussed behind the scenes for more than a month before it went public late last month, with Borough Manager Kenneth S. Weaver asking the authority board if it had considered selling the plant. After a closed-door session, the board decided to formally explore the idea.

"We are in the early stages of looking into that discussion. We're learning and trying to get a feel from the community on their thoughts," said Marini, who earlier this month floated a public opinion poll on the matter. To date, 15 respondents support a sale, 53 oppose it and three are undecided.

"How can they have thoughts? The public does not have any information about what the sale would mean," resident Joanne Price told the board.

Board member Dick Miller agreed and referred to the three undecided consumers as "probably the wisest people in town."

Miller asked the board if consumers would be told before a potential sale how much the plant could net, what the terms of the agreement would be, and how a deal could affect authority employees, water rates and the borough's finances.

Marini said yes.

"What year do we plan to put these facts in front of our consumers?" Miller asked.

Marini said he hoped the board could have some details for the public by next month.

Miller asked for the meeting with council. "If council made a commitment that all of the money it received would go toward tax or debt reduction it would answer a lot of questions," Miller said.

Councilman David P. Henderson, who sat in on Tuesday's meeting, said the borough's fiscal priorities are to "pay off outstanding debt, finish the downtown revitalization -- which we must do -- and try to reduce taxes."

Authority board members decided during an executive session after Tuesday's meeting to invite council to a special public meeting of the authority in the middle of next month, Miller said.

Board member Thomas D'Alfonso cautioned that the authority makes it own decisions and won't be muscled into a sale by council. He also said that two lawyers interviewed early this month by the authority as possible shepherds of the deal indicated water rates would go up if an investor-owned company bought the plant.

"If we keep it, they won't?" Miller asked.

"It's unknown," D'Alfonso said.

"Get real," Miller said.

"You get real," D'Alfonso said.

Investor-owned utilities that could buy the plant would be regulated by the state Public Utilities Commission and have to "jump through more hoops" than the authority to raise rates, Miller said. "It is far more difficult to get a raise through the PUC than for an authority to have a majority vote," he said. The authority could include a rate cap as a condition of the sale, Miller added.

Miller said only two companies, Philadelphia Suburban Corp. and American Water Co., are "large enough to swallow this one."

Philadelphia Suburban owns Consumers Pennsylvania Water Co. Shenango Valley Division, which serves all or part of 14 communities in Mercer County and has made overtures to buy the Greenville plant in the past. American runs a plant in New Castle.

The authority was undecided on whether it wants one or both of the lawyers it interviewed or an independent consultant to spearhead its fact-finding mission. Miller suggested putting the plant "up for sale and entertaining offers."